by the way, so did ronald reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the second amendment who wrote to congress in 1994 urging them "- this is ronald reagan speaking -- urging them to listen to the american public and to the law- enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military-style assault weapons. [applause] finally, congress needs to help rather than endure what enforcement as it does its job. -- rather than hinder enforcement as it does its job. we should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this. since congress has not confirmed the director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms in six years, they should confirm todd jones who has been acting and i will be nominating for the post. [applause] at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets. let me be absolutely clear -- like most americans, i believe the second amendmen